Help with double clutching.

You should be easier to teach than someone who has to have bad habits broken.. its easier to teach someone who has no manual transmission experience because they do not have to "unlearn" how to do things.. 99% of the problems with shifting and double clutching these trucks is that the new drivers either wait too long (RPMs drop too far or their road speed falls) or they push the clutch too the floor, engaging the clutch brake and stops the transmission from turning and there is no way to match something moving (the engine / wheels) with something that is not (your transmission with the clutch pushed to the floor). Not for the scoffers,, allow a little generic license with the actual terms and variances.. Thing of your transmission as a flight of stairs.. LOW gear being the top step and High gear being the lower gear... To UP shiftm you raise the speed, let the rpms fall (happens quicker the slower you are going btw) and then let the rpms fall to get into the next HIGHER gear.. Downshifting is done all the same (every shift that is) same RPM.. we'll say 1000 just for fun. (remember that you are now going UP the flight of stairs.. you have to drop the RPMs.. put the transmission into neutral.. TAKE YOUR FOOT OFF THE CLUTCH, raise the RPMS (climb to he next stair) and while the RPMS are up there.. tap the clutch and move the shifter (at the same time of course) into the next LOWER gear..This will not make much sense... yet

 

The most important thing to remember about double clutching is NOT to push in on the clutch too much. It's just a tap out and a tap in. At most you should be depressing the clutch about an inch. It's really all about the rpm's, whether you float or double clutch you still have to make the rpm's match for the shift to complete.

 

When I was at school, the biggest thing that helped me was forgetting that the last 4" of clutch even existed. Really, the only time you never need to put it on the floor is when the vehicle is stopped.

 

I had a very difficult time learning to shift while double clutching. For some dumb reason trainers kept telling me, "Oh you'll get". Yeah... right...Uh, no I will not. I was doing something wrong and nobody wanted to correct me with specific details.
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.So here is what I have learned over time. First, move your seat further back so that you really have to stretch to floor the clutch pedal. You only push the clutch pedal all the way to the floor when the truck is completely not moving and stationary.
. Start your shift at 1300 rpm. Give it half clutch pedal and shift to neutral. Let the clutch pedal completely out. Say the word "Delaware". Give it half clutch and shift to higher gear. Let the clutch completely out and drive. You should be in the next gear with the clutch completely at 1000 rpm. You can be slightly above or slightly below and not grind the gears. This is what they call "the sweet spot". At 1000 rpm, you are near maximum torque so you can start pulling in the higher gear.
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.If you grind gears and the rpm's are above 1000 rpm, you are not pausing long enough. Therefore, use a longer word such as "Oklahoma" or "North Carolina". Do not change the speed that you shift; just change the length of the pause.
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.If you grind gears and the rpms are much below 1000 rpm , you are pausing to long. Therefore, shorten the pause by using a word like "Georgia" or "York".

 

You make an excellent point about WAITING to get into the next gear, have a slow RYTHM... with a slow foot on the throttle.

It also helps to have a very soft hand on the gear shift, don't try to push it into the gear... let it fall into the gear.

Patience.

 

Its easy to weed out the drivers with no driving school experience. Lol. If you don't double during a road test to get you CDL, they can deny you your CDL.

 

You'll get it. As these others drives have said, take your time and be patient.

I remember, 5.5 years ago when I went thru school, I had trouble with the simulator as well. But once I was behind the wheel of a real truck, listening to real RPMs, and feeling a real clutch pedal and gear shifter, it got much easier.

Also as the others have mentioned, don't bury the clutch to the floor. While driving, slowly push the clutch down until you find it's braking point. That's as far as you need to push it to double clutch.

Good luck bud! You'll get it. Just takes some longer than others sometimes. Just remember its not a race. You aren't competing with the other students. So take your time and think about it. And ask TONS of questions. That's what the instructors are there for.